EXPLORING JUNIOR COLLEGE OPTIONS
The National Junior College Athletic Association is a college athletics association that governs the majority of two-year college basketball programs in the US. Approximately 450 teams on both the men’s and women’s side make up the three levels of Junior College basketball.
WHY JUNIOR COLLEGE?
For a variety of reasons, many times a student-athlete is not ready to enroll at a four-year institution including:
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Academics – prospect is not academically eligible to enroll at a four-year school
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Basketball – prospect is not recruited to the four-year level they feel they deserve and uses a season or two at the junior college level to improve on the court and possibly get bigger, faster or stronger
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Location – for whatever personal reason, sometimes a prospect needs to stay close to home, and in many states, a junior college provides the most convenient college option
A year or two at a Junior College can give a player the experience he or she needs to succeed on and off the court with a future four-year program.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Junior College programs at the Division I and II level offer athletic scholarships, while Division III programs do not offer athletic financial aid.
LEVEL OF COMPETITION
People who are not familiar with Junior College basketball might have a misconception that is a low level of play, but you must understand that just because this level of college basketball does not get the attention that many four-year schools do, there is no shortage of talent on these rosters. Many NCAA Division I rosters include graduates or transfers from Junior College programs and at the highest NJCAA level, it’s not uncommon to have a team with 8-10 potential NCAA Division I prospects.
ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY
A prospect student-athlete must be a graduate of a high school with an academic diploma, general education diploma or a state department of education approved high school equivalency test.
SIGNING WITH A JUNIOR COLLEGE
The NJCAA Letter of Intent is used to commit an individual to an institution for one academic year. The form is only valid for NJCAA schools and has no jurisdiction over NCAA or NAIA schools. A student is allowed to sign a Letter of Intent with both an NJCAA and a NCAA college without a penalty before making their decision on which school to attend.
Click Here to find junior college basketball programs in your state or in any other part of the country.
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